Discussion of the archaeological ethics surrounding the collecting of antiquities and archaeological material.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Not praising, burying: preliminary thoughts

I am grateful to Alan Jelinek for organising today's wonderful workshop at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge today. I was able to reflect on some of the themes behind Artful Crafts and in particular thoughts (pre-Medici) on the scale of looting.

There was a mix of contributors including a philosopher so we got round to exploring some of the major ideas about the importance of context. Is there more to "art" than the creator? Why does context matter?

The Sarpedon krater was lurking on the periphery of the discussion, as well as the Kyknos krater, formerly in the private collection of an honorary fellow of a Cambridge college.

The group was able to walk round the galleries and to gain inspiration from the finds in the galleries. The Attic Nikosthenic amphora was central to our discussion, and the fragmentary (and reconstructed) Etruscan bone couch helped members to visualise the type of finds from tombs in ancient Italy.

We will be reflecting on the event in more detail next week when we reconvene in the McDonald Institute. I felt that we all gained something from the multidisciplinary setting for the day and I hope to share more in due course.

FEEDJIT Recommended Reading

Feedback

Some Recommended Books

About Me

David Gill is Professor of Archaeological Heritage and Director of Heritage Futures at the University of Suffolk. He was a Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome and a Sir James Knott Fellow at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was subsequently part of the Department of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, and Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology, Swansea University. He holds the Archaeological Institute of America's Outstanding Public Service Award (2012).